Good morning, today we have a light reading assignment: Chapters 29-31 of Deuteronomy. This is only 79 verses. We need to enjoy the lighter days when we have them.
Blessings
It always amazes me that the Israelites continued to doubt God. As Moses states in 29:3, they have seen all the wonderful things He had done for them with their own eyes. We have to walk by faith, but they walked following the cloud, etc. John 20:29 tells us that believing without seeing is a blessing.
This is a blessing given to us by God. The people of Israel, though they had seen, still lacked one thing: God had not given them eyes to see, ears to hear, or a mind to understand.
God was there with them and wanted them to know it was He who was providing for them. Since we don’t have the fire hovering over us at night, telling us when to move and when to stay; He gave us this greater insight, the Holy Spirit, so that we could still have faith.
Our clothes and shoes wear out, but we can trust God has provided a way to replace them.
Curses
God warns us against idolatry. This includes idolatry of the self. We think we can claim God will bless us even when we sin. This is blaspheming Him. Scripture says we will be cursed. To believe the contrary would be foolish.
There will be calamities and diseases plaguing the lands.
Stop me if this is sounding familiar.
We don’t enjoy thinking of an angry God. He is a faithful God. His word is true and whether we like the message, we have to love the messenger.
These verses tell us our land will be desolate. His wrath and zeal will burn against us. The worst part is that the Lord will blot out our name from under heaven.
I can endure just about anything in this life. Despite my paralysis and the loss of loved ones, I still find hope in the promise of heaven.
To have one’s name blotted out would be the end of hope.
The reason the Lord would do this is not because He is a mean God. He showed His love toward while we were still sinners, by dying for us. (see Rom 5:8).
In verse 29:26, He gives us the answer for our misery. We have gone off and worshipped other gods and bowed down to them. Our land, this entire world, is overflowing with idols that he had not given us.
Hope
But, before we lose all hope, chapter 30 assures us, if we return to Him, he will restore our fortunes and have compassion on us.
When we place our faith in Him, He will circumcise our hearts so that we can give them to him. His Word will be in our hearts, so we will have the power to obey Him.
He will make us more prosperous than before. Not when we seek prosperity. That is one idol we struggle with. But when we seek Him, He will delight in us.
Verse 30:19 says today we have a choice before us: life and death, blessings and curses. He tells us to choose life so that we, and our children, will live and He will give us that heart to love Him and hear His voice.
Our own faith is weak. Like the people following Moses, we had hearts of stone. When we are born again, He gives us a new heart of flesh. (see Eze. 36:26)
Our new heart has given us more courage. They were too scared to approach the immense walls and gigantic people posing an insurmountable threat. God gave them this new heart. They had the courage to follow Joshua.
Hearts can break.
We see in 31:17 that He knew there would be a day when our hearts would turn away from Him. Sin is always there to tempt us. Satan is prowling like a lion seeking to destroy us (see 1 Pet 5:8).
God sees eternity laid out before Him. He knew this would happen and warns that He will become angry and forsake us.
When He turns His face away, we lose the protection we need. We embrace sin and debauchery and disaster comes on us. This is not a surprise. The scriptures foretold it.
Tomorrow we will learn a song He gave Moses. The song is not the important thing. The important thing is that we remember Him in all we do. We recall all He has done and is doing for us.
When we do this, He is always willing to allow us prodigals to return. He loves us and wants us to be with Him always.
